WASTING SOME MONEY AT THE FLEA MARKET - PART 3: KID'S STUFF

HERE'S THE GRAND FINALE OF THE FLEA MARKET POSTS. PART 1: RANDOM JUNK, PART 2: BASEBALL IMMORTALS, NOW ON TO PART 3: SILLY RABBIT, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS FOR KIDS

I FEEL LIKE I SAY THIS EVERY TIME I POST SOMETHING I GOT FROM THE LAST BASEBALL CARD SELLER LEFT AT MY LOCAL FLEA MARKET, BUT IF YOU'RE WILLING TO DIG DEEP, YOU CAN FIND SOME COOL DEALS AMONG THE OVERPRICED JUNK WAX. THIS LITTLE PACKAGE HERE WAS PRICED AT 6 CARDS FOR THREE BUCKS. FIFTY CENTS A CARD. WITH JESSE OWENS ON THE FRONT! NOT BAD. PLUS THERE WERE MORE THAN SIX CARDS IN THE PACK, I GUESS HE JUST KEPT PUTTING MORE IN THERE. WHILE I DO NOT SPECIFICALLY COLLECT SI FOR KIDS CARDS, I'VE ACCUMULATED A FEW THROUGH THE YEARS AND THIS SEEMED LIKE A GOOD PICKUP FOR THE PRICE OF A RETAIL PACK YOU CAN'T EVEN BUY ANYMORE THANKS TO FLIPPERS

FIRST CARD: 1990 JESSE OWENS. SI FOR KIDS SETS ARE A GREAT PLACE TO FIND CARDS OF PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATED IN SPORTS OTHER THAN THE BIG TEAM SPORTS. JESSE HAS 163 CARDS PER TCDB GOING BACK TO 1936, SO IT'S NOT LIKE HE HAS NO OTHER CARDS OUT THERE, BUT OWENS IS SO ICONIC ANY CARD OF HIM IS A GOOD ONE. I WASN'T AWARE THAT SI FOR KIDS EVEN MADE CARDS BACK WHEN I WAS STILL TECHNICALLY A KID BUT IT WOULDN'T HAVE MATTERED BECAUSE AT THAT AGE I WANTED THE ACTUAL MAGAZINE, NOT SOME BABY STUFF EVEN IF THERE WERE CARDS IN THERE

SECOND CARD: 1991 RON GANT. GOODNESS GRACIOUS, LOOK AT THAT BORDER. WE ARE TRULY IN THE 1990S. I KNEW I WAS BUYING THE PACK WHEN I SPOTTED THIS ONE, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S A DECENT CHANCE I ALREADY HAVE IT. THIS CARD IS FRESH OFF HIS 30/30 YEAR. GANT WAS SO DAMN GOOD, THAT ATV ACCIDENT IS ONE OF THE GREAT TRAGEDIES OF THE ATLANTA SPORTS CURSE

THIRD CARD: 1990 GORDIE HOWE. I'M SLOWLY BUT SURELY GETTING SOME OF MY HOCKEY CARDS SORTED OUT IN HOPES OF MAYBE UNLOADING THEM SOME TIME SOON BUT GORDIE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES AND I'VE BEEN PICKING OUT ANY OF HIS THAT I FIND. I SADLY HAVE NO VINTAGE ONES BUT HE'S GOT A TON OF CARDS ON INSERTS AND LEGENDS SETS FROM HIS POST-PLAYING DAYS

FOURTH CARD: 1990 WILMA RUDOLPH. THE DECEMBER 1990 ISSUE OF SI FOR KIDS HAD AN ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC LINEUP OF TRADING CARDS. CHECK IT OUT: BILLIE JEAN KING, JESSE OWENS, WILT CHAMBERLAIN, PELE, JACKIE ROBINSON, BABE DIDRICKSON ZAHARIAS, BABE RUTH, GORDIE HOWE AND WILMA RUDOLPH. NOT GOING TO FIND A MUCH BETTER LINEUP THAN THAT. I ALREADY HAVE A COUPLE OTHER WILMA RUDOLPH CARDS FROM OLYMPICS SETS BUT SHE DOESN'T HAVE TOO MANY CARDS OUT THERE AND THIS IS A NICE LOOKING ONE WITH THAT WOOD BORDER

FIFTH CARD: 1989 OZZIE SMITH. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO SHORTAGE OF OZZIE SMITH CARDS, BUT THEY'RE ALL PRETTY COOL NEVERTHELESS. THIS MIGHT BE MY OLDEST SI FOR KIDS CARD NOW AND I'M IMPRESSED THAT THEY USED THESE FUNKY BORDERS AS EARLY AS 89

SIXTH CARD: 1990 SCOTTIE PIPPEN. BASKETBALL CARDS WERE STILL SOMEWHAT OUTSIDE OF THE MAINSTREAM IN 1990. THIS IS A PRETTY NICE EARLY CARD OF SCOTTIE. THAT'S THREE HALL OF FAMERS, TWO OLYMPIC LEGENDS AND A BRAVES FAVORITE IN THE SIX-CARD PACK. EVERYTHING ELSE IN HERE IS GRAVY

CARD SEVEN: 1990 MICHELLE GILMAN. THIS IS THE ONLY MICHELLE GILMAN CARD EVER CREATED BECAUSE HER TWO SUBSEQUENT SI FOR KIDS CARDS CAME OUT AFTER SHE GOT MARRIED AND BECAME MICHELLE GOULD. IF YOU WANT THE ROOKIE CARD OF THE GREATEST RAQUETBALL PLAYER EVER, YOU NEED THIS ONE. I'M A LITTLE MIFFED SHE GOT A BASKETBALL TRIVIA QUESTION ON HER CARD INSTEAD OF ONE FOR RAQUETBALL LIKE ON HER OTHER CARDS. I DON'T CARE THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO TIE IN HER HOME STATE OF OREGON, THAT STILL SEEMS A LITTLE DISRESPECTFUL. SPOILER: THIS IS MY FAVORITE CARD IN THE PACK BY FAR AND I'M NOT KIDDING

EIGHTH CARD: 1990 GEORGE BRETT. ANOTHER HALL OF FAMER FROM A MISSOURI BASED TEAM. JUST NOTICING NOW THAT SI FOR KIDS KEPT THE SAME BORDER FROM 1989 TO 1990 BUT CHANGED THE COLOR FROM BLUE TO GREEN. WHO KNEW 1991 DONRUSS WAS RIPPING OFF SI FOR KIDS?

LAST CARD: 1990 TONY HAWK. SO. UHHH. APPARENTLY THIS IS TONY HAWK'S GODDAMN ROOKIE CARD*. I JUST LOOKED AT SOME ONLINE PRICES FOR THIS THING AND HOLY FUCKING SHIT. I CAN UNDERSTAND IT THOUGH, IT IS THE FIRST CARD OF THE MICHELLE GOULD OF SKATEBOARDING AFTER ALL. MAY I REMIND YOU, THIS WAS AN EXTRA CARD ON THE BACK OF THE PACK. I KINDA FEEL A LITTLE BAD NOW BUT I DIDN'T PRICE THE THING AND THAT PACK HAD BEEN SITTING IN A CASE FOR A HOT MINUTE WHEN I FOUND IT. YOU GOTTA KEEP DIGGING AT YOUR LOCAL FLEA MARKET, KIDS. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT DEALS YOU MIGHT FIND

*ROOKIE CARDS ARE FAKE AND MADE UP AND TOTALLY A MARKETING SCHEME AND I'M A JUST A LITTLE BIT GLAD THEY HAVE COMPELTELY BRAINWASHED THE POPULACE AT THE MOMENT